Naruto: Path of the Undead
by wulfenheim
Summary: Naruto gets killed at a young age. He wakes up in the village dumpsite with no knowledge of who or what he is. Follow his journey through the ancient land of Lords and back to his village of birth. Naruto Canon wont start till the later chapters. OC warning
1. Chapter 1

Tales of the Undead Warrior

Chosen Undead Arc: Chapter 1: Undead burg and the Hellkite Drake

Naruto was dead. There was no burial and no ceremony. The killers were branded as heroes by the villagers and ninjas alike. Even the third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, a man who pretended to care for the boy, had simply dismissed the charges placed on the killers. A feast was held in the village center, and a rotting corpse was being feasted upon in the village's dumpsite. Crows and scavengers all descended upon the fresh corpse of Naruto Uzumaki. Tearing away flesh and devouring it until what was left was barely a resemblance to the boy when he was still alive.

His eyes had been eaten away by the crows and worms. Yet a cursed sign, a sign that had not been seen for over a thousand years, lingered on his eye sockets. The accursed Darksign, the mark of the undead.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the corpse rose. Piles of garbage and dirt fell from the top of his body as he slowly awakened. His clothes were withered and ruined; the remains of the flesh on his body were rotting and dangling from his bones.

It had been 6 months since that event, and the village had been much more peaceful without all the civilians running around with pitchforks and torches.

He had remembered the event as if it had just happened 5 minutes ago. Yet how was he still alive?

'I thought for sure that I'd be dead now' Naruto thought as he slowly crept through the dark forests, animals all around him were afraid of his presence and were running away.

The nights in the elemental nations were known to be very cold, even colder still in the Northern parts, but the undead boy was unable to feel pain or cold or the wind as it blew against his face. He hadn't even noticed the fact that he was still capable of sight despite his lack of eyes, or any other facial features for that matter.

SWITCH POV: 1 Year and 3 Months Later

What's my real name? I don't really know. Where do I really come from? I don't even remember.

I have been travelling for many months now, though I'm not sure for how long. I have been chased away like a monster...Why? What did I do to deserve this? In my journey, I have come across a man who recognized what I am...Undead he called me, and told me to set my journey to a land called Lordran...I remember being called a monster...But that was so long ago...

Lordran, the ancient land of Lords as the stranger called it to be...Now it is just a pile of ruined structures, a shadow of what it once was.

NARRATOR POV:

_FLASHBACK:_  
_Naruto was currently sitting on the roots of a massive tree that stood near a small creak. His body was incredibly tired after being chased away by farmers who saw him. His body had been impaled by spears, burnt by torches and crushed by rocks, all of which had been administered by the farmers. Yet he somehow survived it all, but it was all logical for Naruto. _

_'It's impossible to kill that which is already dead' Naruto thought as he rested his head on a pile of dried leaves which he placed just behind his head. Animals all around would flee at the mere sight of him, and humans would either run away in terror or try to destroy him. But then you really can't kill dead person._

_The sound of snapping twigs and leaves alerted Naruto to something that was a few meters away from him, just in the bushes._

_"Show yourself!" Naruto said, sowly rising from his rested position. From the bushes, a man emerged. He wore a chainmail longsleaved shirt, leather gauntlets, chainmail pants and leather boots. A long 3 feets sword was hanging from his waiste without a scabbard. Although to Naruto, what he wore was very foreign, then he just had to ask himself the question that had been wanting to be asked...'Where am I?'_

_"Well it's been a very long time since the last undead had been seen wandering around" The man said as he approached Naruto, sounds of metallic clangs could be heard with every footstep. "500,000 years to be exact, and I'll be damned if the First flame has already begun to dwindle"_

_"I'm sorry, but who are you? and what are you talking about?" Naruto asked, preparing to run away if this man tries to kill him, though he was starting to doubt if staying would get him killed._

_"I'm sorry, pardon my manners! My name is Siegfreid of Catarina, and I'm an adventurer like my ancestor Siegmeyer of Catarina" The man said with a small bow. "And what would an undead like yourself be doing this far from Lordran, or did you recently escape from the Undead Asylum and got lost?"_

_"Neither. Truth be told, I am not lost since I have no idea where I'm going in the first place" Naruto answered,his head hung low. Then he remembered something that Siegfreid said. "What is this Lordran? Is it a haven for all the Undead like myself?"_

_"Hmm...I assume you are new to this aren't you?" Siegreid asked, and got a nod from Naruto in response. "So what's your name anyway?"_

_"My name?" Naruto asked as a thousand possible names went up his mind. But no, he didn't know who he was. "If I had a name, then I don't remember it anymore"_

_"Hmmm...A nameless undead who is lost...haha...What a strange scenario" Siegfreid bellowed. "Well then, would you like to be my travelling companion to Lordran?"_

_Naruto looked at him, surprised by the man's offer. Never, had anyone been kind to him since his undead days, and he was pretty sure that it was the same way when he was alive. No words could escape his mouth, instead, he answered with a nod._

_"Well then!...what shall I call you?" Siegfreid said, rubbing his bearded chin as he tried to think of a name for his traveling companion. "I'ts not the best name, but I think I shall call you..._

_FLASHBACK END:_

"Zim!" Siegfreid called, grabbing Zim's(Naruto), attention. "This path should lead directly to the Firelink Shrine if I'm not mistaken"

"Does the map say anything about traps or enemies?" Zim asked, gripping the Uchigatana that was tied to his back. Zim, or Naruto, wore the standard thief set with the black mask dangling from the hood instead of covering his face. His humanity had not been restored yet, and Siegried did a fine job of cleaning the rotting flesh of his body. So his current face largely resembles a Skeleton, with a few muscle tissue on the sides of his head. "It'd be stupid to walk into an area filled with Hollows and skeletons"

"Then use your superior dexterity and scout ahead for me, the map doesn't really say anything about traps or enemies" Siegfreid said. Zim nodded and continued onwards, his every movement failing to make even the slightest noise.

Over the years, Zim or Naruto, had learned that Undeadfolk were capable of using the souls of their victims to enhance their physical attributes. Unlike most warriors who focused on their Strength and power, Zim spent his souls to enhance his agility, dexterity and stamina, and added a little bit of strength of course. This way, Zim is able to outmaneuver almost all of his foes during a fight.

Running stealthily up the branch of a large tree, Zim was finally able to see the outer walls of Lordran. He looked around until he finally saw the Firelink Shrine. It was ruined, to say the least. There was a large tower that was barely standing due to it's terrible shape. There was a small cathedral-like building that had large part of it broken down by time. There was a lot of moss in the surrounding areas, and a lot of weak hollows walking around the area. With that, Zim jumped off the branch and hurried back to Siegfreid.

"There is at least 50 unarmored Hollows walking around the Firelink Shrine" Zim said, using his right arm to hang by a large branch that was a 5 meters above Siegfreid. "Killing them wouldn't be a problem"

"Very well...So are you actually gonna fight in an open battle now?" Siegreid asked, remembering all the times that Zim refused to fight in an open space. The answer he received was a small nod from his rather short companion, for him at least. Siegfreid was probably 7 feet tall, and Zim was most likely around 5.9 feet or 5.10 ft. But it didn't matter, since both their heights complimented their fighting styles.

The Firelink Shrine was indeed filled with many Hollows. A great majority of them were unarmored, and about 5-6 of them were balders.

Siegfreid charged first, swaying his massive sword left and right, destroying many hollows in the process. Zim followed closely after him, using his superior dexterity and agility with his light weight armour to run up the walls and kill the archers and long range hollows with his Uchigatana. Zim then jumped off the wall and used a downward stab to a Balder who was too busy trying to hit Siegfreid.

In the end, all the Hollows were killed and the Firelink Shrine was secured.

"Hey Kid" Siegfreid said, grabbing the attention of Zim, who was busy trying to find some Titanite from the Balders. Zim stood up and faced Siegfreid. "Light the Bonfire kid"

10 MINUTES LATER:

"So should we go up to the parish? Or down to New Londo?" Zim asked, looking over the map that Siegmeyer of Catarina had created. "He wrote here that New Londo has ghosts that can hurt you, but are intangible to your attacks...up the stairs we go"

Siegfreid nodded in response. No one, not even the most battle addicted person wants to fight something you can't hurt but can kill you. Nobody wants to fight something like that, unless of course if you're suicidal.

"Fill up those Estus Flasks before we leave" Siegfreid said, before proceeding to use his binoculars to scout out the path that leads to the Undead Parish. After Zim was finished with the Estus Flasks, the duo headed up the stairs.

Strangely, there were no undead roaming around. Just a few giant rats, but no Hollows or Skeletons. So, to pass the time, Zim and Siegfreid began to converse.

"I hope I'm gonna find some Solid Humanities in this place" Zim said as he played with a talisman that he found near the Bonfire. "And a sunlight altar...that would be really helpfull"

"Well since Siegmeyer wrote here that there are two Bonfires ahead of us, you happen to be just in luck since the second bonfire, which is quite far from here, happens to be right next to a Sunlight altar" Siegfreid said as he started browsing through the map. "It says here that most of the Giant Beasts here were slain by the Chosen Undead...man that guy's killed at least almost one of everything that exists on the planet"

A massive roar suddenly echoed throughout Undead Burg, and it was really close. Zim and Siegfreid had to roll out of the open in order to avoid being burnt to a crisp by a sea of flame that suddenly came from the sky. The dragon flew over them and continued flying over the wall until it couldn't be seen anymore.

"Damn, I thought the Chosen Undead had killed everything here" Zim commented as he repeatedly tapped the cloth on his shoulder since a small part of it was burning. Sighing, he turned to Siegfreid and asked. "What else does the map say?"

"There WAS a Taurus Demon that's supposed to be hanging around the next bridge, but the Chosen Undead killed it...Oh there it is! It says here that the Hellkite Dragon wasn't around when the Chosen Undead appeared here, so that's why it's still alive" Siegfreid said.

"Siegfreid, neither of us has the equipment to kill a Dragon, skill maybe, but we'll be burnt to a crisp before we can even reach it" Zim noted. "Does the map say anything about hidden passages or tunnels?"

"It says here that the Hellkite Dragon normally rests on a bridge just ahead of us...that one over there" Siegfreid said, pointing to a bridge that was just ahead of them, not too far. "In the middle of the bridge are some stairs that lead under the bridge...It says here that Siegmeyer used it to avoid the Dragon"

"Well at least we can still reach the Sunlight altar right?" Zim asked. Siegfreid began looking through the map until he spotted the answer to Zim's question.

"Unfortunately, we're gonna have to go through the dragon first if you want to get to the Sunlight Altar" Siegfreid said. "How fast can you run at full speed?"

"Faster than the eye could see if I run at full speed" Zim said. Siegfreid knew Zim wasn't joking or exaggerating anything. He had seen it, figuratively, Zim suddenly disappearing and taking out enemies before they could even notice him. The boy had an extraordinary affinity for speed, agility and stamina.

"I have a plan" Siegfreid said, motioning for Zim to come close to see the map. "Alright you will...

5 MINUTES LATER:

"OI! YOU BLOODY FUCKIN! BEAST! COME GET MEEEE!" Zim yelled at the top of his lungs while slowly jogging towards the Hellkite Drake. "COME ON YOU BIG STUPID LIZARD!"

With that, the Hellkite Drake began flapping it's wings and flew towards Zim, who was also running towards it. Now, Drakes are actually sentient beings who are capable of advanced thought, much like humans. That's how they are able to defeat humans quite easily because almost every human being underestimates them for being stupid lizards. But this human had to be VERY stupid to just run up to a dragon who was obviously capable of killing him.

The Hellkite Drake's eyes widened when the human, Zim, suddenly disappeared from sight. The Drake then stopped flying and allowed its body to fall unto the bridge in a crawling position. The Drake looked around, left, right, downwards. The only place left to look was behind, and that's what the dragon did, but quickly regretted it.

When the Hellkite Drake started turning, Zim suddenly appeared in front of its face, while in mid-air, and plunged his Uchigatana into the beast's right eye and through the left. Zim, of course, knew that a blinded raging dragon was probably 50x more dangerous than one that wasn't blinded, or enraged. Quickly removing his Uchigatana from the Hellkite drake, which enraged it more, he began running at full speed towards the Bonfire that was just a few meters ahead. Zim didn't move as a blur, in fact he couldn't be seen moving at all.

"NOW SIEGFREID!"

The dragon heard Zim's voice and turned its head to the source of the sound. This proved to be its undoing, as it didn't notice Siegfreid who running, Zweihander raised high up in the air ready to perform a vertical slash. The Zweihander carved through half of the Drake's head, but was stopped by the flesh and bone midway through totally carving up the whole head. The Hellkite Drake was instantly killed.

"Well that was easy" Zim noted as he jumped off a metallic barrel that wouldn't have survived Dragon fire. "The Bonfire is just up ahead"

5 MINUTES LATER:

"That right there should be the Sunlight Altar I was talking about" Siegfreid said, pointing his finger to spot that lay just beside the Bonfire. It looked be the ruins of an old statue or something, presumably a statue of Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight.

"PRAISE THE SUN!" Zim yelled as he ran towards the statue and began praying to it. Siegfreid deadpanned upon seeing, never really understanding the concept of a covenant, but respected it nonetheless. After 2 minutes of kneeling down and praying in front of the Sunlight Altar, Zim finally stood up. "Time to see how strong a Lightning Spear really is"

"Yeah sure" Siegfreid said, gripping the handle of his Zweihander, but then a question popped in his mind. "How is it possible that you can do spells and miracles without the aid of a Talisman?"

"You just gotta have faith" Zim's answer was hard to comprehend, especially for a warrior who favored rushing in and thinking later, like Siegfreid. But he was able to understand the fact that Spells and Miracle depend on your faith on them. The stronger the faith, the more powerful the effect. That was simple enough to understand. But fully understanding how it works would give gods a headache.

"Yeah...we should continue to the Parish"

ABOUT 5 SECONDS LATER:

"I wonder if the metal plating of that Boar is conductive to electricity..." Zim said quietly he watched the armoured boar move around. "There seems to be 2 armored Hollows with crossbows, and 2 more armored hollows with spears...this'll be too easy"

"So are you gonna kill 'em all by yourself? Or are we gonna have some _Jolly Cooperation_?" Siegfreid asked.

"I think I can take 'em by myself" Zim answered. Right after that, Zim began to climb up the nearby wall in order to get the perfect spot for a long range shot against the boar, and the perfect spot to silently kill the two Armored Hollows who wielded spears. '...Too easy'

Crouching low in a position right above the two unsuspecting hollows, Zim saw that there was a Balder just a few meters away from the gate that the Boar was guarding. Seeing no more extra enemies, Zim dropped down from his spot and decapitated the two speared Hollows, and all without making a single noise as he grabbed the bodies of both Hollows in order to prevent it from making noise. After that, he held up both his hands in the air and charged up two Lightning Spears. He threw the two spears to the Hollows with crossbows with perfect accuracy, striking them directly in the chest. The Balder and the armoured boar saw the two hollows drop down from their posts dead, they were no alerted to the presence of an intruder, though they did not really know where this intruder was.

Zim began charging another Lightning Spear in his right hand, supersizing it until it reached 3 meters in length. He threw it at the boar, and was surprised by the effects of supersizing it.

Firstly, it created a massive and violent omni-directional explosion of golden lightning. Secondly, it left a huge 7 meter radius crater in the middle of the stone walkway. Siegfreid saw this and instantly reconsidered if he should join the Sunlight Covenant or not, but since he didn't have a talisman or didn't need one like Zim, he decided agianst it. but the potential for destruction was clearly evident by the crater. The Balder and the boar were both reduced a crisp, more so for the boar since it was the target of the Lightning Spear.

Zim jumped off a ledge and unto Siegfreid's location.

"Shall we?" He said with a smirk with his right hand gesturing for Siegfreid to go first. The Undead Parish was just a few meters away and nothing was stadning in their way..

AND CUT! This is my first Naruto/Dark Souls crossover fic, so review on what you think. Update would depend on the reviews, favorites, etc. 


	2. Chapter 2

Tales of the Undead Warrior

Chosen Undead Arc: Chapter 2: Zim of the Abyss

"WE ARE NOT GONNA SURVIVE THIS!" Zim yelled as he disappeared from sight and stabbed his Uchigatana to the eyes of another dragon. 'One dragon down, 5 more dragons, 30 Gargoyles and 5 giants...How great is my luck?'

Zim disappeared again after the dragon fell down and started to plummet to the stone pavement of Undead Burg. He reappeared beside Siegfreid who was currently busy fighting off 5 Gargoyles...at one time. He was about to slice the neck of a Gargoyle when he noticed a giant piece of stone being hurled at him by a giant. So he grabbed Siegfreid by the hair and pulled himself and Siegfreid to a safe distance.

Safe for about 1.3 seconds. Zim's speed was so great that he created an after-image of himself, and Siegfreid, which distracted the Gragoyles long enough for them to stay there and get hit by the boulder. Unfortunately, when they landed, a dragon appeared beside them and unleashed a massive burst of fire on the roof that they were previously standing on. The roof was burnt, but Zim and Siegfreid had survived the blast by shear accident when the wooden roof was unable to hold them any longer and broke. Allowing them to fall safely inside.

The Dragon, who was still hovering outside the building, was destroyed by a massive 4 meter lightning spear that was thrown by Zim. The explosion had somehow killed another dragon who was flying close to it. Now there were only 3 dragons left.

Zim grit his teeth as he clutched his broken shoulder in pain. He was lucky to escape that fire breath with just a broken shoulder, the shockwave it created would've broke every bone in the body before you get roasted. Siegfreid was, for the most part, alive and unharmed, though he was running out of breath while Zim barely scratched his stamina reserves.

"It has been a great journey my friend...this SUCKS!" Siegfreid said, pulling out a smaller sword from the scabbard that was attached to his right hip. Smaller, compared to the massive Zweihander he wielded with his right hand. It was a Claymore. "Zim old buddy, I'd rather go down fighting as my Ancestor did"

Zim smirked as he gulped down an Estus Flask to heal his broken shoulder.

"Well then, it's been an honor to have lived by your side my friend" With that, Zim and Siegfreid charged to the monsters. Zim had a lightning spear by his left hand, and his Uchigatana by his right hand. Siegfreid had a Claymore by on his left hand, and a Zweihander on his right hand.

Zim slashed the head off a dragon that appeared beside by using the Lightning Spear as a blade instead of a projectile. He then did a front flip to avoid a giant boulder that was thrown to him by a giant. After the flip, Zim disappeared and reappeared just behind the giant and stabbed the lightning spear on the giant's nape.

Meanwhile, Siegfreid was hacking and slashing at everything that wasn't Zim, and so far, it was working very well. Gargoyles were falling like grain to a scythe, and he managed to kill 2 dragons, which meant that there were no dragons anymore...in the current vicinity at least. He charged at another Gargoyle and cleaved its body in half using a scissor movement with his dual blades. He charged again at another Gargoyle and slammed both his swords on the creature's body, utterly destroying it. Siegfreid turned around and began running towards Zim, who seemed to be appearing and reappearing at will, killing Gargoyles left and right with his Uchigatana.

Siegfreid immediately had to barrel-roll to his right in order to avoid a massive boulder that was thrown by a giant. The giant was about to throw another boulder when its face suddenly lit up in golden sparks and exploded. Siegfreid turned his head to the left and saw that it was Zim who threw the Lightning Spear.

Only 1 giant and 10 gargoyles remained.

"I think we will live through this after all" Zim commented as he slashed another Gargoyle in the face, leaving 9 more to kill. He quickly did a 360 degrees spinning slash and killed 3 more Gargoyles who surrounded him. He turned to his left and saw Siegfreid going all-out against the axe-wieling giant. He continued fighting the Gargoyles when he saw that Siegfreid was manhandling the giant. 'I'm getting quite tired of this'

Zim now wanted to try something so crazy that the only way he was able to think of this was in a battlefield. He summoned a Lightning Spear, but instead of using it as a projectile or as a melee weapon, he tried wrapping it around himself like a suit of armour. The effects were very...unexpected. First, Zim blinked out of sight, leaving behind a trail of Golden Lightning. Second, his speed was enhanced to a point that his Uchigatana slipped from his grasps due to the high speed motion. So instead of slicing the Gargoyle, he ended up punching it straight on the body. his punch, shockingly, went through the Gargoyle, creating a fist-sized hole in the Gargoyle's chest area. He did a backflip and retrieved his Uchigatana and sliced the gargoyle behind him. He was moving so fast that it was like his arm had disappeared when he slashed and reappeared after the attack was done.

His lightning enhanced movement eventually wore-off after 10 seconds, but he was already able to kill 3 Gargoyles in his enhanced state, and that left only one remaining Gargoyle. He looked around him, Siegfreid was now wrestling the giant, and the last remaining Gargoyle was nowhere to be seen. His eyes widened when he saw that the last Gargoyle was right behind Siegfreid, ready to stab him with a massive spear.

Using his absurd speed, he managed to get behind the Gargoyle and cut off its head. But, much to his shock, he was too late to save Siegfreid.

"Fuck" He muttered under his breath as he grabbed Siegfreid and disappeared. Siegfreid's wound was small, but deep. His left lung was FUBAR and he had internal bleeding, but the man laughed it off saying:

"That was one hell of a battle!"

"Shut the hell up!" Zim yelled back at him, panicking since he had no idea on what to do with Siegfreid's wounds. Undead, like himself, don't need to tend to wounds or even apply medication to it. In fact, Zim would just shrug of his wounds and continue fighting during a battle. But his friend, Siegfreid, was human and, like all humans, was subject to pain and death. "Tell me what I should do!"

"Zim...find the Lordvessel..." Siegfreid said, his voice sounding serious. "...Go to the Kiln of the First flame and...kindle the flames..." Siegfreid trailed off as his life was beginning to leave his body.

"..._sigh..._Rest well my friend" Zim said as he began to walk away, but quickly noticed something was wrong. The floor was completely black, he turned around and saw that Siegfreid's corpse was gone. The walls, the ceiling, everything turned jet-black. "...This isn't normal"

"...It seems the Chosen Undead has surfaced at last..." A voice said from the darkness. "...Welcome to the Abyss, Undead Warrior..."

"Who are you?" Zim asked in a semi-angry tone.

"I am Darkstalker Kaathe, and you, Chosen Undead, have passed the test" Kaathe said, still not choosing to appear.

"...The battle earlier? That was all a test?" Zim asked, his hands shaking in anger. "My friend died because of a FUCKING TEST?"

"hahahahahaha...Fret not, Chosen Undead. I never administered the test in the first place. Those Dragons, Gargoyles and giants went their on their own accord. I just decided to make it as a test" Kaathe responded, mockingly so. Zim sighed allowed his head to cool down. It was in that moment that Kaathe decided to reveal himself/itself. From the darkness, spawned forth something that was so freakishly creepy that Zim shuddered upon seeing it. A serpent, at least that's what it looked like, with a humanoid nose, large eyes, massive teeth and mouth, and some tendrils that were attached to its face. Overall, it was ugly as hell.

"What do you want from me?" Zim asked in a monotone voice.

"...While I do not know who your parents are...I know who your ancestor is..."

10 MINUTES OF HISTORY LESSONS LATER:

"...They betrayed him because they feared the art of Life Drain?" Zim hissed angrily as he his hands bounded into fists. "...Cowards!"

"Yes...now do you see why you should bring about the Age of Dark?" Kaathe asked.

"...So the Chosen Undead before me-"

"WAS A FOOL!" Kaathe finished for him. "He chose to re-kindle the flames and prolong the age of fire, thus prolonging the curse of undeath!"

"...What must I do?..." Zim asked with his head hung low.

"We may discuss that later, for now, I must give you the tools you require..." Kaathe said. Instantly, 10 Darkwraiths surrounded Zim, converging around him. Kaathe noticed Zim was about to retaliate, so he said: "Do not fear them, for they shall be your own servants soon..."

Zim inhaled deeply and allowed the Darkwraiths to converge all around him. Darkness overtook him, and his eyes began to close...

When Zim awakened, he was greeted by a sight that would instill terror on any human. A Darkwraith was the one who helped him rise to his feet. It knelt in front of him when he was finally able to stand. Zim looked around and saw that there were at least three hundred Darkwraiths kneeling down.

"...How does it feel knowing you comman a force that even the gods themselves fear?..." Kaathe said while chuckling when he appeared from the darkness. "...How does it feel to wield the power of your Ancestor?"

Zim stared at his arms, admiring the ornate design of the Dark Armour he wore. Either it was just a skeletal pattern, or it was an actual skeleton, it fit perfectly with the armour. He also noticed that his Hollowing had been reversed when he felt his hair brushing up against his forehead. Attached to his shoulder, and falling straight to his ankles, was a black tattered cape that looked utterly terrifying. He also wore a black tattered hood with many rips and holes, beneath the hood was the face of a Darkwraith, a black skull with red glowing eyes. Attached to his waist was a long Black blade the expelled an aura of death and decay, he himself felt it. Overall, the only difference he had with the normal Darkwraiths was his cloak.

"...Zim, your hands now contain the power of the feared Dark Hand..." Kaathe said. "...With it, you may drain the essence of humans. Thus, withering their bodies and turning them old. This essence is equal to Liquid Humanity, and as a Darkwraith lord, you may use Liquid Humanity to strengthen your sword..."

"Thank you, now tell me what I'm supposed to do" Zim said plainly, earning a chuckle from Kaathe.

"...Take this..." Kaathe said. A strange red jewel suddenly materialized in Zim's right hand. "Fill it with the souls of 20 powerful warriors and return here when it is filled..."

"And where can I find these warriors?" Zim asked, strapping the jewel to his hip.

"...Sadly, these lands are devoid of such warriors..." Kaathe answered. "...You must look to the east...In a land called the Elemental Nations, there, you must find 20 powerful warriors and take their souls, but be warned: The Red Jewel will only accept the soul of someone who is powerful, so in order for you to know which person to kill, the Jewel shall glow a red light when a powerful warrior is near..."

"...How do I get there?..." Zim asked.

"...In that land, there is only one Bonfire that I know of, I can take you there when you are ready..." Kaathe said.

"...Take me there..." Zim said.

"...Very well...Hold still for a moment..." Kaathe said before swallowing Zim.

SOMEWHERE IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF WAVE:

It was in a cave, deep within the earth. A bonfire rested on a large rock that had been withered with time. The sands within the cave were strangely dry.

From the Darkness, Kaathe emerged and spit out an angry Zim.

"Sorry for that, but it was the quickest way to get you here" Said a chuckling Kaathe. "...You may summon the Darkwraiths at will, all you need to do is touch the ground with your Dark Hand...now we wont be seeing each other again until the jewel has the souls...so goodbye"

Shrugging, Zim activated his Dark Hand and slammed it to the dry sand below him. Three black holes appeared on the ground around him, and three Dark Wraiths spawned forth from the Abyss. They all kneeled for a few seconds before standing up.

"...You and you will be staying right beside me, a meter away, and you will stay behind me, a meter and a half away. All of you will stay in that position unless I say otherwise, or if it is physically impossible to do so." Zim instructed, and the Darkwraiths instantly followed his commands. "...Kill anything that threatens me, but stop if I say so..."

Zim began walking to the cave's exit, with his mindless Darkwraith servants in formation.

Zim had to cover his eyes with his arms as sunlight washed his face. The first thing he heard was the sound of fighting.

'Great, now I can start looking for powerful warriors' Zim thought as he headed out to find the source of the sound. Unknown to him, his armour, cloak and weapon was releasing an aura of death, thus slowly decaying the plants all around him.

SEARCH FOR SOULS ARC BEGINS NEXT CHAPTER!

AN: i made a lot of changes to the weapons n stuff in Dark Souls so it would fit in a story.


	3. Chapter 3

Tales of the Undead Warrior

Elemental Nations Arc : Chapter 3: Tazuna's Story Part 1

"These are the warriors of the Eastern Lands?" Zim asked no one in particular as he studied the fight that was being waged 60 meters from him. "Tch, all of them are weaklings"

BATTLE:

It was just a 3 on 4 battle. The Demon Brothers with Zabuza Momoichi, and the a Genin team from Konoha with their Jounin sensei, Kakashi. The battle itself, was quite boring. The three genins, a brunette with a wierd hairstyle, Uchiha Sasuke, a pink...PINK?( Yes pink ) haired girl, Haruno Sakura and some wierdo with the look of a pedophile, Sai...just Sai. Anyway, the three genins were utterly defenceless to face their enemies, now it was just their sensei who fought to save them, and some drunk looking guy who was obviously not a warrior.

Zim had to admit, the white-haired man who was facing off against the three warriors had some skill. But sadly, he wasn't powerful enough to be slain for his soul. Zim sighed, began to move away from the battle. He was immortal, in a way, and had all the time he needed to find 20 powerful warriors to kill. With that, he disappeared along with the 3 Darkwraiths disappearing with him.

30 MINUTES LATER:

Zim grit his teeth, clenched his fists and punched a nearby wall, causing to collapse and decay. He had been walking( more like warping ) for more than 30 minutes, and the red jewel tied to his hip still wasn't blinking. Blood was rushing through his body violently, an aura of anger was washing all over him, it was even strong enough to cause one of his Darkwraiths to gulp and start whistling.

"Stop...that annoying whistling..." Zim hissed, causing the Darkwraith to stop whistling and stand at attention. Zim sighed as he allowed his anger to wear off. 'How much time am I going to spend here looking for powerful warriors?'

'Why not just start collecting souls from bandits and thugs to pass the time?' He thought, then quickly nodded at his own suggestion. 'Now...where do I find some bandits...or thugs...'

LATER:

Team Kakashi, or team 7, could be considered as the luckiest team to have ever lived. Kakashi somehow managed to fend off Zabuza and the Demon Brothers, their client was still alive and the mission is still active. Though it took some heavy amount of persuation from the client's side in order for them to not leave him there due to the fact that the client, Tazuna, only paid for a C-Rank mission. With Zabuza and the Demon Brothers involved, the mission was a high-end A-Rank close to S-Rank. But, you'd have to be heartless in order to leave a man, his family and his entire damn nation in the hands of a tyrant. So their destination course was still Wave Country.

Kakashi, their jounin sensei, was extremely tired. But he was awake and ready to fight anything that seeks to harm the client or his Genin team. During the fight with Zabuza, he was able to injure the man in the knees. So he'd give him a week to heal before he shows up again. The Demon Brothers were not so lucky. One had his shoulder and knees snapped, and the other had his arm sliced off, so if they choose to appear, it would be quite easy to deal with them. But right now, he was in no condition to fight anyone who's Chuunin rank or higher.

A rustling in the nearby bushes alerted the group to a single individual who was probably headed straight for them. The genins instantly went into a triangle formation around Tazuna, while Kakashi stepped forward in order to be the one to confront whatver was headed towards them. What came out was rather unexpected

"HELP ME!" A man, his clothes were ripped, his right arm was dangling from a piece of skin, blood was spraying everywhere, and his face was filled with cuts. "HELP MEEEE!"

"What the hell!" Sasuke commented and was about to try and help, if that was possible, but he was immediately stopped by Kakashi. Sasuke grit his teeth, he understood why his sensei had to stop him, but the man in front of them was just...FUBAR.

"PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!" The man fell to the ground, the blood from his wounds were spraying everywhere. The man was now flat on his back, probably passed out from the shock. Kakashi was about to investigate his...corpse, when a person suddenly appeared beside the man.

'...I didn't even notice him!' Kakashi mentally yelled as he took in the appearance of the person. He was wearing a very strange black armour with skeletal fragments attached to different areas of the body. A black hood and a skeletal mask adorned his head. "Who are you?"

The person didn't answer, instead he, based on first perception, grabbed the back of the man's head with his right hand, since his left was holding a strange blade with, what appeared to be, a skull near the hand guard. Kakashi just stayed silent and continued to watch whatever this person was doing.

His eyes, and his genin's, almost bulged out of their respective eye sockets when they noticed that the downed man's skin was getting wrinkled, and his overall physique went from muscular to skinny.

'He's getting older?...wut?'

The Darkwraith had just finished draining the bandit's essence and was about to kill Kakashi, when a command was issued through a mental link...

'_Not them_'

The Darkwraith just disappeared in a blink. No smoke, no signs of shunshin and no signs of Chakra usage.

'How did he do that!?' Were the thoughts of every person in the group. Kakashi was about to investigate the corpse, but decided against it and decided to seal it inside a scroll for investigation when they returned to the village.

"C'mon guys, Wave ain't getting any closer " He said.

WITH ZIM:

There he sat, on a mountain of corpses. The forest grounds were wet with fresh blood, so many souls collected and the essence of 300 thugs have been collected and used to empower his Dark Blade.

Of course, all this death didn't bring him any satisfaction whatsoever. But it was necessary. The stronger he becomes, the greater the chances of his mission being succesful.

" What I do isn't for the sake of a single person, or a village, or a city, or a nation. What I do is for the good of all mankind" He said to himself before standing up and charging a lightning spear in his right hand. He then used it burn the bodies of the 300 thugs. The foul stench of burning bodies became permanently a part of the forest.

LATER: With Kakashi and Team

"How the hell did he do that!?" Sakura screeched, panicking from what had transpired earlier. "Th-That g-guy..."

Sakura trailed off, unable to finish what she was about to say due to the extreme shock. Sasuke himself was afraid of the power he had witnessed earlier, he was visibly shaking, but remained silent. Sai just sat on Tazuna's couch with his usual creepy smile, but deep down he was terrified that such a technique could even exist. Kakashi just sat there, contemplating on what their next course of action might be. He had no time to dwell on what happened earlier, he didn't need to do so since he acquired the courpse for investigation. All he was thinking about now was what to do about Zabuza and why was Tazuna strangely calm after what happened.

"Alright team, we have 7 days to train, rest and protect Tazuna while we're at it. So rest for now while I send a message to the Hokage" Kakashi said to his students. After that, he began making handseals for a summoning jutsu. In a puff of smoke, a small pug arrived. Kakashi pulled out a scroll from his pocket and gave it to the pug. "Deliver this to the Hokage"

The pug nodded without question and lept off to the direction of Konoha.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Strangely, it was Sasuke who began talking. "What was that...Earlier today...How?..."

"I know you have a lot of questions...and honestly, I wish I knew the answers" kakashi said, turning his gaze over Sasuke. "but what happened today is something that even the Hokage himself might find difficult to explain"

Sasuke remained quiet and allowed himself to relax a little bit.

"Sensei, that jutsu earlier..." Sai tried to ask, but was cut off by Kakashi who said:

"Look, I trully have no idea on what just happened back there" Kakashi said. "But whatever it was, it can wait for later. Right now we have bigger problems"

"...It's called a Darkwraith..." This time, it was Tazuna who started talking. Kakashi and his genin team all turned their attention to him. "That thing from earlier, it's called a Darkwraith"

"How would you know that Tazuna-san?" Kakashi asked, suddenly getting interested on what Tazuna was saying. "Can you tell us?"

"..._sigh.._You may want to sit down, this may get boring" Tazuna warned. Kakashi and his genin team instantly grabbed the nearest chairs and gathered around Tazuna.

"It all began many years ago, when I was still a young lad.." The genins moved closer to him, causing Tazuna to sweatdrop. "...My heart was set on adventure and action, and no, I didn't become a ninja, never wanted be one in the first place. In one of my many adventures as an 18 year old, I joined a small ship that was headed west. They were fellow adventurers who wanted to venture out to foreign lands, this particular land we were headed to was the western continent"

"The west?" Sai repeated, curiousity flooding through his brain.

"I heard the people who went into expeditions to the west never came back..." Sakura said, remembering an old textbook she found in the library. It briefly mentioned about expeditions to the west.

"...Yes, not one " Tazuna said, his face getting sad. "...Not a single one returned, except for me"

"What happened?" Kakashi asked, getting more and more insterested on Tazuna's story.

"We arrived on white shores...it was quite the sight. Green trees, lush forests, the soft grass waving with the wind...and the gentle breeze brushing against my face...Yes, it was trully beautiful" Tazuna trailed off, chuckling slightly when the genins were imagining what he'd described, they had the look of pure bliss on their faces. "The beauty of nature their was our first clue, but sadly, no one saw it as such"

"There had to be at least 70 men who traveled with me. The forests there were different from ours. It felt old, like it had existed even before humans existed. Each tree expelled an aura of wisdom, it was as if everything there was alive" Tazuna said, making the three genins lean in closer. "We didn't really expect to see any signs of civilization until we saw a stone walkway in the middle of the forest. It looked old and ruined by time. We decided to follow it and see where it would take us"

"So...did it take you anywhere?" Kakashi asked, leaning towards Tazuna in anticipation.

"Yes, but it's not some grand city with precious relics. In the distance, we saw a Bonfire. We got closer and noticed that it was some rusty blade that was stabbed into the ground, and the flames seemed to originate from its base. Yup, that was one of the strangest things I've ever seen." Tazuna said, placing his arms on his lap "We decided to check on it. Among us was a former ninja, we had him investigate it. He said that whatever was producing the flame didn't run on chakra. Can you imagine what a great breakthough it is if we had discovered people who didn't use chakra and used something else?"

Kakashi's right eyebrow raised, and he asked: "And did you find any?"

"We did find someone, and he was quite strange..." Tazuna trailed off before Sai leaned in and asked.

"What was the name of this person?"

"...He caled himself Solaire of Astora...

CLIFFHANGER!

Anyway, just review on what you think. Opinions, etc.


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